Review: The Naked Truth by Lillly Cain

Title: The Naked Truth
Series: The Confederacy Treaty #2
Author: Lilly Cain  website | twitter
Publisher: Carina Press (June 13, 2011)
Language: English
ASIN: B004XVSVEE

Captain Susan Branscombe was the victim of brutal torture at the hands of terrorists. Though rescued, she’s now facing an equally brutal accusation: treason.

The only way she can prove her innocence is to allow Asler Kiis, a Confederacy Examiner, to delve into the depths of her mind. Asler is Inarri, the alien race that made contact with Earth just months before. His duty is to find the truth, but when he explores Susan’s mind he can’t resist drawing her into a more intimate experience.

Susan takes comfort in Asler’s heated sensuality. Their erotic sensory exploration chases away the darkness and her body aches for more. But as their desire reaches new limits Susan finds it difficult to suppress the memories she is desperate to forget.

Is the passion they share enough to let Susan push aside her fear and trust Asler, not only with her mind and body but with her ever-opening heart?

This is the follow up to Alien Revealed, which introduced the Inarri to humans.  I was curious if the second book in the series would be as awesome as the first.  I’m not going to lie, I really liked the first one.  And then I started reading…

The story opens with Susan in captivity, resigned to dying at the hands of terrorists.  She’s held on until she can’t any longer, but she’s been beaten until all she wants is a respite.  She never expects that she will be rescued, so when she’s faced with the inevitable questions about her time spent as a prisoner she’s still reeling from what’s happened.  I liked Susan in the first book.  She’s a tough cookie that isn’t afraid to cut straight to the chase.  I think that’s why this book happening in the span of about four days worked for me.

Typically I don’t love romances that are condensed into instant attraction and forever kind of love, but I get where Susan is coming from.  As established in Alien Revealed, the Inarri are a very contactual, emotional and sensual race.  They speak mind to mind, and the kind of therapy Susan undergoes with Asler is very personal and pulls them closer together.

I was a little fuzzy on the events between books 1 and 2, but not by much.  There are places where the dialogue informs you of what’s going on, but not enough to really break the flow of the story for me.

This is a series with a lot of possibility for what happens next.  There were allusions to a group of alien-like vultures waiting for Earth to be left unprotected and other political drama between the races not currently in contact with earth.  I love the world building and the differences between human and Inarri culture and how you learn about it.

I gave this 5 stars because you cheer for Susan as she recovers and faces what’s happened to her and learns to move on.  I want to know what happens next!